Diminutives in Spanish
Spanish
In this lesson, we will learn how to form Spanish diminutives and when to use them.
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What are diminutives?
Diminutives are used to express a sense of familiarity or to indicate that something is small.
- Me encanta ver a los pajaritos volando. (I love watching the little birds flying.)
- El bebé está durmiendo en su cunita. (The baby is sleeping in his little crib.)
- Mi hermanito siempre me sigue a todas partes. (My little brother always follows me everywhere.)
Diminutives in Spanish
Diminutives are formed by adding the ending "-ito" to a noun or an adjective.
How to form diminutives
Diminutives are often formed from nouns.
| Noun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| El pajaro (the bird) | El pajarito | The little bird |
| La cuna (the crib) | La cunita | The little crib |
Diminutives can also be formed out of an adjective.
| Adjective | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Suave (soft) | Suavecito | Softly |
| Pequeña (small) | Pequeñita | Tiny |
Keep in mind that diminutives match with the gender and number of the word they are attached to.
Expressing familarity
Diminutives can be used for different purposes. The firts use is to express that something is familiar or common to us.
| Noun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Charla (chat) | Siempre disfruto de nuestras charlitas. | I always enjoy our little chats. |
| Bar (bar) | ¿Recuerdas aquel barecito de la esquina? | Remember that little bar on the corner? |
The previous example is an exception to the rule. The ending had to be adapted by adding two more letters.
Bar (Bar) Barecito (Little bar)
Expressing endearment
Diminutives can be used to express affection towards something or someone.
| Noun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Abuela (grandmother) | Echo de menos a mi abuelita. | I miss my granny. |
| Cachorro (puppy) | ¡Qué cachorrito tan bonito! | What a cute puppy! |
In English it’s common to add the letter “y” at the end of the word in that case.
Expressing lesser size
Besides that, diminutives can be used to indicate that something is small.
| Noun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Vaso (glass) | ¿Me podrías dar dos vasitos de agua, por favor? | Could you give me two small glasses of water, please? |
| Trozo (piece) | Me gustaría probar un trocito de pastel. | I would like to try a little piece of cake. |
Notice that letters in a word can change when addig the suffix of the diminutive.
Trozo (Piece) Trocito (Little piece)
Expressing lesser intensity
Diminutives can be used to show that something has less intensity or importance than something else.
| Noun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Caída (fall) | Fue una caidita sin importancia. | It was a minor fall without importance. |
| Problema (problem) | No te preocupes por ese problemita, todo se solucionará. | Don't worry about that little problem, everything will be solved. |
Diminutives vs. words with similar endings (adjectives, nouns, past participles)
There are Spanish words that are not diminutives but share the same endings. It is important to learn them to avoid confusion.
| Wordtype | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Past participle |
Te he escrito una carta. |
I have written you a letter. |
| Adjective | La cena estuvo exquisita. | The dinner was exquisite. |
| Noun | El mito del monstruo del lago Ness es muy famoso. | The myth of the Loch Ness Monster is very famous. |
Diminutives are widely used in everyday conversations in Spanish-speaking countries, mainly during informal conversations. The type of diminutives can vary depending on the country or region.
Key takeaways
Here is a quick summary of this lesson.
- Diminutives are formed by adding the ending "-ito" to a noun or an adjective. The ending matches with the gender and number of the word they are attached to.
- Diminutives can express familarity, endearment, lesser size or lesser intensity of something.
- They shouldn't be counfused with other words ending in "-ito", such as nouns, adjectives or past participles.
Important! Practise this lesson with a teacher.
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